International
Insolvency Institute

Overview

Scott Atkins is a Partner and Deputy Chairman of Norton Rose Fulbright Australia. He is the Head of Risk Advisory and a member of Norton Rose Fulbright’s Global Board. Scott is the immediate past Chairman of Henry Davis York before the merger of that firm with Norton Rose Fulbright in December 2017.

Prior to joining HDY in 2001, Scott practised for 7 years as a lawyer with Commonwealth Bank Group, having commenced his career in Legal Services upon graduating in law. Throughout his university education, Scott held a scholarship from the Bank for 5 years, awarded under its leadership development program.

Scott is a member of the International Insolvency Institute, an inaugural Fellow and a member of the Board of INSOL International and chairs its strategic review process, INSOL Taskforce 2021. Scott is also Vice President of the Australian Restructuring Insolvency and Turnaround Association (ARITA), the peak insolvency and restructuring association in Australia.

Scott's practice, for the past 21 years, has been focused on Australia's leading banks and insolvency and restructuring practitioners located around the world. He has acted on some of the industry's most complex and sensitive matters.

Scott is recognised by his peers for his leading expertise in cross-border insolvency, acting on inbound engagements and advising Australian clients on outbound engagements in the USA, UK, Cayman Islands, Hong Kong and The Netherlands, among other jurisdictions.

Scott is an Australian delegate on the Advisory Committee on Comparative Law established by the American Bankruptcy Institute as part of its Commission to Study the Reform of Chapter 11 of the US Bankruptcy Code. This work has, to date, resulted in a landmark report from the ABI for the reform of Chapter 11.

Scott is a published author on insolvency and cross-border insolvency. Most recently, Scott was one of the Australian contributors to the 2015 publication International Contributions to the Reform of Chapter 11 U.S. Bankruptcy Code which is a volume in the European and International Insolvency Law Studies series. He also co-authored the Australian chapter, together with Professor Mason, of Look Chan Ho's leading text: A Commentary on the UNCITRAL Model Law: Cross-Border Insolvency Cases and Materials (20120 London.

Scott is a visiting lecturer on cross-border insolvency at the University of Sydney in its undergraduate and postgraduate law programs lead by Professor John Stumbles.

Qualifications

Harvard University - Leadership of Professional Firms 2012
Fellow of INSOL International 2009
LLM (University of Sydney) 1996
BEc LLB (Macquarie University) 1993

Courts of admission

Supreme Court of New South Wales 14 December 1994
High Court of Australia 25 June 1999
Federal Court of Australia 25 June 1999

Key speaking engagements

24 January 2016 - INSOL International Annual Regional Conference, Dubai UAE. Plenary address 'Taskforce 2021 and the Strategic Future of INSOL International'

28 May 2015 - ARITA Annual National Conference, Perth Australia. 'ARITA's Place in the Insolvency World' - a panel discussion comprising INSOL President Mark Robinson, ARITA President Mike McCann, ARITA Technical Director Kim Arnold, moderated by Scott Atkins

7 May 2015 - RITANZ 14th Annual Corporate Insolvency and Restructuring Conference, Auckland New Zealand. 'Legal Update from Across the Tasman' - an update of topical cross-border and Australian insolvency cases and developments relevant to New Zealand, moderated by Justice Paul Heath

22 March 2015 - INSOL International Annual Regional Conference, San Francisco USA. Paper presented: 'The UNCITRAL Model Law on Cross-Border Insolvency in Action - Sad about Saad'

16 October 2014 - American College of Investment Counsel Annual Conference, New York. A discussion of bankruptcy issues, trends and developments in the U.S. and Australia with the Hon. Cecelia G. Morris, Chief Bankruptcy Judge, Southern District of New York and Scott Atkins of HDY, moderated by Michael Reilly (then of) Bingham McCutchen LLP

21 May 2012 - INSOL International Annual Regional Conference, Miami, Florida, USA. A panel discussion moderated by Robert Hertzberg on the topic of "New and Emerging Legal Issues: current issues and new cases from across the globe"

Publications

Books

Author of the Australian jurisdiction chapter in B. Wessels & R.J. de Weijs (eds), International Contributions to the Reform of Chapter 11 of the US Bankruptcy Code, European and International Insolvency Law Studies (2015) Eleven International Publishing, The Netherlands

Author of the Australian jurisdiction chapter in F.D. Yates (ed), Avoidance of Antecedent Transactions and Cross-Border Insolvency (2014) INSOL International, London, UK

Author jointly with Professor Rosalind Mason (III Member) of the Australian chapter of L.C. Ho (ed) A Commentary on the UNCITRAL Model Law: Cross-Border Insolvency Cases and Materials (2012) Globe Law and Business, London

S. Atkins "Cross-border insolvency protocols: co-operation and co-ordination" in K.E. Lindgren (ed) International Commercial Litigation and Dispute Resolution (2009) Commercial Law Association of Australia in conjunction with the Ross Parsons Centre, University of Sydney

Articles

S. Atkins & N. McCoy "First appellate decision in Australia on UNCITRAL Model Law on Cross-Border Insolvency: a warning to foreign investors and liquidators" International Corporate Rescue (2014) vol 11(5) 306

S. Atkins "INSOL Hong Kong - 2014" Australian Insolvency Journal (2014) vol 26(2) 41

S. Atkins, R. Mason & S. Maiden, "The emerging framework of cross-border insolvency in and around Australia: Saad Investments, Japan Airlines and Lehman Brothers - part 1" International Corporate Rescue (2011) vol 8(4) 262

S. Atkins, R. Mason & S. Maiden, "The emerging framework of cross-border insolvency in and around Australia: Saad Investments, Japan Airlines and Lehman Brothers - part 2" International Corporate Rescue (2011) vol 8(5) 329

S. Atkins "McGrath v Riddell: attrition in the battle between universalism and territorialism and the ongoing harmonisation of international insolvency law" International Corporate Rescue (2009) vol 6(3) 141

S. Atkins "Public policy: the law's guardian in the clash between insolvency and maintenance in the context of litigation funding arrangements" Insolvency Law Journal (2004) vol 12(1) 41

S. Atkins "The jurisprudence arising from judicial review of schemes of arrangement" Insolvency Law Journal (2003) vol 11(1) 18

S. Atkins, "Extension of the legal relationship between co-guarantors" Commercial Law Quarterly (1999) vol 13

S. Atkins "Vendor's obligation to deliver instrument of title" Journal of Contract Law (1995) vol 8(3) 275

Lecturing

· INSOL International Global Insolvency Practice Course - Lecturer on "Co-Operation and Co-Ordination in Practice" with R. Pedone & T. Graulich, 22 January 2016, Dubai

· Visiting lecturer on cross-border insolvency at University of Sydney in its undergraduate and postgraduate law programs lead by Professor John Stumbles - 2012 - ongoing

· Australian Restructuring Insolvency Turnaround Association, Insolvency Education Program Course Leader 2009 - 2014